Bagarius yarrelli

Bagarius yarrelli, the goonch or giant devil catfish, is a very large freshwater catfish of the genus Bagarius that lives in the big rivers of the Indian subcontinent, including the Indus and Ganges basins. It can reach about two metres in length, and it favours deeper pools close to faster current rather than small streams. Its scientific name honours the English naturalist William Yarrell, while its many local names, such as goonch, baghar, gauns and bodh, come from the languages of the region, and the genus name itself derives from baghar. Taxonomists have long confused it with Bagarius bagarius, and a 2021 study treated B. yarrelli as a junior synonym of that species, while also splitting off the Southeast Asian populations as separate species. The species is considered vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of overharvesting, and dams such as those on the Indravati River may harm its habitat. Culturally it gave its name to the Mughal Order of the Fish, and tribal communities in Chhattisgarh worship it.